Every Quilt Tells A Story

This quilt is one of the latest projects I've been working on.

Quilts have to be the projects that I love best. 

Every quilt tells a story, has a history.

Most of us have quilt tops that we've inherited from Mothers, Grandmothers, or Aunts.  This quilt top was made by my clients mother.  I'm working on the 2nd quilt at the moment, and I'll share those photos as soon as it's finished. 

The quilt blocks are simple. 

And simple can be beautiful.

The design isn't intricate or complicated.

Yet... this is a treasure.

You can see in the following photo, just how many pieces of fabric that she used, in order to make the size needed.  For example, if you'll notice the brown triangle in the lower left of the block.  She used 6 tiny pieces of fabric, hand sewn together, just to make a 3 inch triangle. 

It reminds me of how much we take for granted.

And how plentiful our lives are. 

I can only imagine what she was like...

She didn't waste even the smallest scrap of fabric.  Some of the pieces are only 1/2 inch square. 

The blue fabric that she used for the sashing...

(for you non-quilters, thats the strips between the blocks)

must've been a dress.  You can also see in the photo below, how the strip that is horizontal, above the quilt block, is faded, compared to the strip that is vertical. 

Was this a favorite dress?

Is that why it's faded and worn in places?

Or was it that she had few dresses, and this one was just no longer wearable?  I wish I knew more about her.  My client did tell me that when her Mother made this quilt top, she was nearly blind.

That - to me - is amazing.

For me -  when I've finished a quilt...

the magic happens when I give the quilt it's first washing.

I use old fashioned, unbleached quilt batting.  1/4" thick cotton.

The kind our grandmothers would have used.

When it's washed and the dryed, it shrinks, just slightly.

Just enough to give it a little bit of puckering.

The same area of the quilt after washing ~

Now it looks like a vintage quilt that's been around for years.

I love that.

When I think about women from that era, it absolutely amazes me that they made beautiful quilts like this.  Every stitch by hand.  No sewing machines, no rotary cutters, just a needle and thread, fabric from feedsacks, or worn out clothing, never wasting a thing.

That is why this is a treasure.